MERGER TALKS BETWEEN FBN AND ECOBANK

The first merger talk was with First Bank which started in 2005. The First Bank transaction was a very interesting transaction because it was meant to give scale to Ecobank in Nigeria and give scale to First Bank in the rest of Africa. So there was something in it for the two institutions. Unfortunately, because of the size of the transaction, and being the first of its kind in this country and the fact that if involved various countries and various governments, it was difficult to complete that transaction as early as you would complete an in-country transaction. The transaction is not over, however as discussions are still on-going. The second one, which was more Ecobank Nigeria than Ecobank Transactional was with Unity Bank. We could not move ahead within the time frame we had determined for ourselves the proposed partner’s accounts were still being approved because of the large number of banks that came together in their merger arrangement. Then we went to Sterling Bank. We did a lot of work in this transaction. But you know that mergers between institutions with diverse share holding could also be complicated. We could not agree on some issues and so that deal was put on hold. Tomorrow, we can go back to them, but I can assure you, the First Bank transaction is still ongoing.

Source: Businessday Newspaper.